The Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC) has received a petition from Olu Omotayo, Esq., President of the Civil Rights Realisation and Advancement Network (CRRAN), drawing attention to the disturbing case of Mr. Godwin Odey, who appears to have been wrongfully arrested and charged for murder and unlawful possession of Indian hemp in Enugu State.
In a letter dated 6th October 2025, addressed to His Excellency, Barr. Peter Mbah, Governor of Enugu State, and copied to the Honourable Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, CRRAN, appealed for justice and urgent intervention in the matter involving:
Charge No. MEN/566C/2025: Commissioner of Police v. Eze Obiora & Others (Murder of Rev. Fr. Matthew Eya)
Charge No. MEN/565C/2025: Commissioner of Police v. Eze Obiora & Others (Unlawful possession of Indian hemp)
According to the petition, Mr. Godwin Odey, an OND graduate of Banking and Finance from Benue State Polytechnic, Ugbokolo, and a dispatch rider with IFEX Courier, Abuja, was arrested on 20th September 2025 alongside others by police officers at Obollo-Afor, Enugu State. They were returning to Abuja after attending a friend’s wedding in the community.
Eyewitness accounts and supporting evidence – including videos and photographs from the traditional marriage ceremony of Mr Morgan Paul Odeh and Miss Loveth Chisom Ikechukwu, held on 19th–20th September 2025 – clearly place Mr Odey at the event and contradict the police narrative.
Executive Director of RULAAC, Okechukwu Nwanguma, said that family sources allege that after their arrest, two of Mr Odey’s friends secured release by paying bribes, while he, unable to meet the financial demand, was falsely implicated and charged alongside strangers for the killing of Rev. Fr. Matthew Eya, a Catholic priest murdered on 19th September 2025 along the Eha-Alumonah–Eha-Ndiagu Road, Nsukka.
He added: “CRRAN and RULAAC view this as a grave miscarriage of justice and a flagrant abuse of police powers. The case typifies the persistent problem of corruption, extortion, and arbitrary arrests that continue to undermine the credibility of Nigeria’s criminal justice system.”
RULAAC therefore demands immediate review of the charges filed against Mr Godwin Odey to ensure that no innocent citizen is punished for an offence he did not commit, urgent intervention by the Enugu State Government and the Ministry of Justice to investigate the conduct of the police officers involved.
It further demanded unconditional release of Mr Godwin Odey from detention pending the outcome of a credible, independent review of the case.
RULAAC calls on the Governor of Enugu State, the Hon. Attorney-General, and relevant oversight bodies—including the Police Service Commission and National Human Rights Commission (NHRC)—to act swiftly in the interest of justice and rule of law.
RULAAC said: ” No citizen should have their life and future destroyed by a system that trades liberty for bribes. The Enugu State Government must demonstrate that justice still matters in our democracy.”
